Great words from Abraham Lincoln. I have a lot of work to do in this area.
"I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. For too long, every ounce of forgiveness I owned was locked away, hidden from view, waiting for me to bestow its precious presence upon some worthy person. Alas, I found most people to be singularly unworthy of my valuable forgiveness, and since they never asked for any, I kept it all for myself. Now, the forgiveness that I hoarded has sprouted inside my heart like a crippled seed yielding bitter fruit. No more. At this moment, my life has taken on new hope and assurance. Of all the world’s population, I am one of the few possessors of the secret to dissipating anger and resentment. I now understand that forgiveness has value only when it is given away. By the simple act of granting forgiveness, I release the demons of the past about which I can do nothing, and I create in myself a new heart, a new beginning. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.
"I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness. Many are the times when I have seethed in anger at a word or deed thrown into my life by an unthinking or uncaring person. I have wasted valuable hours imagining revenge or confusion. Now I see the truth revealed about this psychological rock inside my shoe. The rage I nurture is often one-sided, for my offender seldom gives thought to his offense. I will now and forevermore silently offer my forgiveness even to those who do not see that they need it. By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. I give up my bitterness. I am content in my soul and effective again with my fellow man.
"I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly. Knowing that slavery in any form is wrong, I also know that the person who lives a life according to the opinion of others is a slave. I am not a slave. I have chosen my counsel.
"I know the difference between right and wrong. I know what is best for the future of my family, and neither misguided opinion nor unjust criticism will alter my course. Those who are critical of my goals and dreams simply do not understand the higher purpose to which I have been called. Therefore, their scorn does not affect my attitude or action. I forgive their lack of vision, and I forge ahead. I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity.
"I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself. For many years, my greatest enemy has been myself. Every mistake, every miscalculation, every stumble I made has been replayed again and again in my mind. Every broken promise, every day wasted, every goal not reached has compounded the disgust I feel for the lack of achievement in my life.
"My dismay has developed a paralyzing grip. When I disappoint myself, I respond with inaction and become more disappointed. I realize today that it is impossible to fight an enemy living in my head. By forgiving myself, I erase the doubts, fears, and frustration that have kept my past in the present. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny.
"I have forgiven myself.
"My life has just begun.
"I will forgive even those who do not ask for forgiveness.
"I will forgive those who criticize me unjustly.
"I will forgive myself.
"I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit."
-- Abraham Lincoln
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tom Peters: Seven-step Path to Sustaining Success
From Tom Peters post - Seven-step Path to Sustaining Success
You take care of the people.
The people take care of the service.
The service takes care of the customer.
The customer takes care of the profit.
The profit takes care of the re-investment.
The re-investment takes care of the re-invention.
The re-invention takes care of the future.
(And at every step the only measure is EXCELLENCE.)
You take care of the people.
The people take care of the service.
The service takes care of the customer.
The customer takes care of the profit.
The profit takes care of the re-investment.
The re-investment takes care of the re-invention.
The re-invention takes care of the future.
(And at every step the only measure is EXCELLENCE.)
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Project Customers
All projects must end. Hopefully, they end with the customer and sponsor being happy with the project's deliverables. A key thing to plan for on every project is how the customer will be managed after project implementation.
Many organizations rely on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to help them manage their customers. CRM systems have evolved to be must have tools for many organizations, and all project managers should be familiar with their capabilities and limitations. Also, since many CRM systems are hosted in the cloud, the startup costs can be very reasonable.
Wikipedia defines Customer Relationship Management as "a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.[1] Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments".
If you are interested in learning more about CRM systems, one company I have looked at is Hosted CRM from Sherweb. If you have done business with them in the past, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Also, make sure you check out these great customer service jobs from Jobboom, a supporter of this blog.
Many organizations rely on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to help them manage their customers. CRM systems have evolved to be must have tools for many organizations, and all project managers should be familiar with their capabilities and limitations. Also, since many CRM systems are hosted in the cloud, the startup costs can be very reasonable.
Wikipedia defines Customer Relationship Management as "a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service.[1] Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments".
If you are interested in learning more about CRM systems, one company I have looked at is Hosted CRM from Sherweb. If you have done business with them in the past, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.
Also, make sure you check out these great customer service jobs from Jobboom, a supporter of this blog.